Trevor s lung collapsed last year, flummoxing his plans to travel hotels in dallas texas with Delta from New York to Toronto. Delta issued a voucher and promised Trevor that it could be redeemed anytime within one year. What they didn t tell him, at any point, was that they started counting not from the date of his planned travel, or from the date he requested the refund, but from the date they issued the original ticket.
In June of 2007, I experienced a collapsed lung. At the recommendation of my thoracic surgeon to avoid flight for three to six months from the time of my operation, I was unable to use tickets booked on June 11, for a flight from NY JFK to Toronto—flight XXXXXXXX.
After being made aware I would not be able to use the tickets, I called a Delta representative who informed me that once receiving a signed letter from my physician, I would be given full cred ($365.58) for the flight. The credit would be available for one year. On both occasions I spoke with Delta representatives—when canceling the flight and when confirming my letter was received—I was not made aware that the credit expired on the date the flight was booked (June 11) and not the date of departure (Aug. 3). This information was only relayed when I attempted to use the credit on June 24, 2008. No email or letter acknowledging the restriction was ever offered, just the instruction to call when I wished to apply the credit. On top of that, nowhere in the confirmation information given to me by Travelocity is the booking date listed, hotels in dallas texas only the flight date and I'm sure you can imagine, given my health circumstances, how that is unsatisfactory hotels in dallas texas if you expect me to consider June 11, the key date in this situation.
I understand Delta must have restrictions and expiration dates for credit; however, I feel my medical condition was taken advantage of by inadequate customer care that neglected to communicate hotels in dallas texas the central piece of information. I am using the credit in a window well within hotels in dallas texas a year of the flight date. This is the first time I've booked hotels in dallas texas a flight since my injury and am dismayed by a lack of sensitivity by Delta's policies hotels in dallas texas and customer care representatives.
We realize you expect to receive accurate information when you call us. Our Reservation Sales representatives are carefully hotels in dallas texas trained in all our procedures, including providing a positive experience for our valued customers.
Delta tickets and other travel-related documents are valid for one year from the date of issue. Once a ticket or other document has expired, hotels in dallas texas it has no further value and cannot be refunded, extended, or exchanged.
While we would like to offer special hotels in dallas texas consideration in cases such as yours, we are unable to honor the many requests that we receive from others in similar hotels in dallas texas situations. We follow a consistent policy to ensure that Delta is fair to everyone who travels with us. Accordingly, we must respectfully decline your request.
Again, thank you for writing. We recognize this was not the response you expected to receive and trust you will understand our position. We value your business and hope you will continue to choose Delta. Should you need to contact us in the future, or find information about our service or operations, please visit us at delta.com.
I'm sure it comes as no surprise that your response is completely unsatisfactory and no, I do not in any way understand your position. Due to human error, Delta has stolen—that may sound like a strong word, but is in fact the ONLY way to refer to it—almost five hundred hotels in dallas texas dollars from me.
You can claim your "Reservation Sales representatives are carefully trained"; however, all experience in this situation points to quite the opposite. Just one example, it took two hours and the escalation of the issue to a supervisor before anyone could even figure out how to locate my reservation. I understand the challenges of staffing qualified people to low-paying positions, but don't screw your customers when they slip up. If you have many requests from "others in similar situations" than you have an institutional problem that needs to be fixed and I do not feel I should pay the price for that failure. It is certainly not Delta being "fair to everyone who travels" with you. Quite the opposite in fact.
In a business whose success and failure hinges on the ability to create customer loyalty—one ticket, just one, bought by me could erase any loss you'd take from giving me MY MONEY back—it's shocking to me that you've decided to give me the middle finger and I m sure, a contributing factor to Delta s struggles. I will NOT "continue to choose Delta." In the internet hotels in dallas texas age, I'm just shocked Delta doesn't understand this costs more than it saves. You have no right to this money and with poor customer service hotels in dallas texas from top to bottom, have taken advantage of my illness.
Attached you'll find signed statements from just a few of the people who've heard my story and agree that Delta has abused its corporate powers and hidden behind policies that avoid accountability. This will be just the beginning as I feel it's important people hotels in dallas texas hear how your company approaches its customers.
I will be happy to forgive and forget if you decide it's worth actually considering my case individually and realize the importance of respecting your customers especially when they are confronted with life and death health challenges.
We ve shown that a well-crafted, reasonable Executive Email Carpet Bomb can decimate arbitrary airline deadlines. Send an EECB to Delta s executives using previously published contact information , and don t forget to cc the Department of Transportation.
Filed Under: Other Customer Service Tagged With: airlines , can I cancel my delta ticket , customer hotels in dallas texas service , DELTA , delta issues , delta problems , delta refunds , delta tickets , delta vouchers , fares , flying with delta , health , readers , refunds , regulations , rules , travel , when does my delta voucher expire
Airline overbooking has nothing to do with whether his ticket credit hotels in dallas texas should be usable hotels in dallas texas for more than a year. Just because they overbook periodically does not mean that all tickets should be valid from a year from the date of travel. Overbooking only affects a very small percentage of passengers. If he hypothetically had been able to take his flight and there was no overbooking, would you say that Delta s expiration policy is valid then?
And just to clarify, airlines overbook exactly because their product is so perishable and valuable. And no one is involuntarily denied a seat with a confirmed ticket, until others are requested to voluntarily give up their seat in return for compensation. Rarely, it doesn t go smoothly and people are involuntarily inconvenienced, but those are very rare cases.
@ speedwell hotels in dallas texas : Anyway. The point of consumerism is to advocate for the consumer. It is simple good business. If businesses don t care to do the simple things that guarantee goodwill, shame on them. It s sad and ignorant that many businesses and their customers believe they are on opposite sides of a zero-sum game. But even if that were true, what side are you on, anyway?
Sure, that s a good approach. hotels in dallas texas But after a company puts in policies (including hotels in dallas texas customer-friendly ones) because it has to deal with thousands of customers hotels in dallas texas a day, what are you going to do about someone who still wants you to go outside the policy?
You sell oil rig equipment or something related. If a customer s equipment breaks because of his mistake while not reading the manual, you might replace hotels in dallas texas it, just to be friendly. What do you do if the customer says he s been inconvenienced and should be given 2 pieces of new, expensive equipment for his mistake? And says you re stealing his money because you don t give him more equipment for free? And how would you react if he put his story here and people on this blog told you to just give it to him, then I would respect your company. And if you don t you re evil.
Next time I have a highly contagious disease, remind me to fly Delta. Why yes, I do have the Bubonic Plague, but I know Delta will try to screw me on the ticket, so I figured I d better use it. Oh, and maybe I ll bring a few ticks to let loose on the plane too
It s been many years since I ve flown, so I m admittedly out of touch with the specifics of how flights get ticketed. When I read the OP was issued a voucher, I m envisioning a piece of paper that the airline hotels in dallas texas has put into an envelope, stamped, hotels in dallas texas and mailed out to him. And I want to say, Why didn t the airline just print an expiration date on the voucher? That would seem to be a sensible move that would prevent a lot of confusion in these cases.
However I m guessing that all of this is handled paperlessly now. So the consumer ends up having no verifiable document hotels in dallas texas to point to when there s a discrepancy between what the customer hotels in dallas texas service rep told me or what the website indicated when I purchased this and what actually happens when they try to use what they ve bought.
@ speedwell : This couldn t have been said better. It s the damndest thing, I ve noticed that in my business if I bend over backwards and actually SPEND money fixing problems and not telling customers to go F themselves I make MORE money than if I told them to go to hell. The reason? They re happy with the service, they tell others who then use the service, and they come back for repeat business. Your customers hotels in dallas texas are probably your greatest investment. I know that sounds hotels in dallas texas corporate-y stupid, but it s true.
While perhaps Delta should have been clearer over its policy, it boils down to the guy bought an unrefundable ticket. He traded a lower cost ticket for the risk of not getting a refund, which is something 99% of us do without even thinking hotels in dallas texas about it. Delta didn t have to give him anything.
@ kepler11 : Airline hotels in dallas texas seats on the other hand, are highly valuable, and one person taking a seat often means that another cannot hotels in dallas texas use it. For that reason, if you miss a flight, on many routes, you have prevented someone else from having that seat, and should y
No comments:
Post a Comment